Hannah and Andrew

Not every pregnant woman likes to have their picture taken, in fact, some women do not like to be the center of attention at all, and therefore do not like to have their picture taken whatsoever. This was the case with Hannah... she told me point blank that she does not like to have the attention on her and dislikes having her picture taken, and she wanted me to come to her and Andrew's home and capture some images of them as they are expecting their first child. Hannah told me that she knew it was important for their child to have some images of Mom and Dad as a couple before the birth and that she would tough it out for the sake of their child. 
Going into the shoot, I knew I would have to have my "A" game on more than ever... I wanted to make sure that Hannah was comfortable with me and the camera before we started shooting at all, so we 3 spent some time chatting in the kitchen, simply hanging out in their home, playing with the cat, discussing possible spots to shoot in and laughing a lot. By the time the camera came out and we were ready to shoot, Hannah was having a good time, goofing around with Andrew and doing great in front of the camera. In fact, she let me take some shots that she had said "no, thanks" to during our consultation, so I knew I was gaining her trust and she was feeling more comfortable by the minute. I don't want to discount Andrew's role in this process... he is supremely supportive, funny, and loving with Hannah... it was this combination that allowed us to get some great shots that range from documentary to down right goofy (those are not public) for their new child to look at when the time is right. 
Hannah went into labor on Tuesday and I am anxiously awaiting the news of their child... they choose not to know the sex before the birth... I am sure Hannah and Andrew are home basking in the joy of child birth and taking it easy and I will hear form Andrew soon enough. 
Blessings to Hannah and Andrew and their new baby.. hopefully I will be shooting images of the baby very soon... stay tuned...
Here are a couple of my favorites from the shoot...  

Hope and Alan's engagement images

What fun I had shooting Hope and Alan's engagement images 2 weeks ago! As you may know, I first met Hope and Alan when they came to the Asheville area 2 years ago on vacation when they first started dating. They invited me to their vacation cabin to shoot some images of them as Alan was stationed in Afghanistan and was going back soon and Hope didn't want to miss the opportunity to get some images with her sweetie.  
Well, fast forward to 2010 and Alan has rotated back to the states, which makes Hope a happy lady! What makes Hope even happier is that Alan proposed to her! I knew he would from the first moment I saw them together, they are so in love, their joy and happiness simply fills the room, or the street...!
So, Hope and Alan drove down from Camp Lejeune (where Alan is stationed and a 6 hour drive) to come to Asheville to have me shoot their engagement images and we had a great day together! We walked around, stopped into the French Broad Chocolate Lounge, had lunch at the Lexington Avenue Brewery and went to the veterans memorial in Pack Park. As we cruised around downtown enjoying the gorgeous spring weather, I was consistently taken by how in love these two are. I will let the images speak for themselves..

   Under the stunning Bradford Pear tree in bloom...

 

 A quick stop for a hug as we walked to the Chocolate Lounge

  Hope has Alan right where she wants him!

 How can you not have a good time at the French Broad Chocolate Lounge! 

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 I love how content Hope looks in Alan's arms... too sweet!

 

Hope giving the railing a slide... how could she resist?

 It is not hard at all to get these two to show some affection for the camera!

 Had to grab a shot with the classic truck... 

   No caption needed :)

 Alan showing his love for Nebraska... his home town. 

 Hope wanted to make sure she got a couple of shots with Alan in his dress blues... We walked down to the veterans memorial as we thought it was a fitting place to shoot and captured some wonderful images... this is one of my favorites.

Beautiful Little Stella

It is one of my great joys when I get the opportunity to capture a wedding then get a call a year or so later asking me to take pictures of the couple's new child. That is exactly the case with Stella. Her Mom and Dad got married in June of 2008 and I was honored to be asked to shoot their wedding at Hidden River here in Asheville. About 3 months ago, little Stella came into the world, her bright blue eyes and blonde hair bringing a smile to anyone's face who has the pleasure of being around her. 
Stella is a very happy little girl and if you know her parents, you would know why! Stella has recently learned to make "raspberry" noises and loves to show off her new talent with any chance she gets... this is one of the funniest things I have witnessed a little girl doing and often during the shoot Stella had all 3 of us laughing out loud!
Thanks so much to Pete and Jen for including me in their lives and the life of their beautiful little girl. I cant wait to shoot some more images of this little lady as she grows up. 
Here are a couple of images from the shoot...

What a happy girl.. such a beautiful smile. 

I love Stella's hat... too cute!

Is there anything more precious than little toes? 

Daddy and his little girl...